dustlike

3.4

Very small and powdery like dust

adjective
/ˈdʌstˌlaɪk/

: polvoriento

The pollen appeared almost dustlike in the sunlight.

Examples

A dustlike substance coated the surface of the ancient book.
The dustlike particles floated in the sunlight.
After the fire, the air was filled with dustlike particles.
Her makeup had a dustlike finish that looked natural.
The artist sprinkled a dustlike substance over her painting to give it a unique texture.
He noticed the dustlike particles floating in the sunlight through the window.
The cake mixture had a dustlike quality, making it easy to sift before baking.

Synonyms

powdered

vsdustlike

9 1.4

In the form of many tiny dry pieces, like spices or sugar

is about natural resemblance to tiny particles rather than being produced that way

powdery

vsdustlike

4 3.0

Covered with fine, dry dust that easily falls off

is more about resembling tiny settled particles than a loose surface coat

fine-grained

vsdustlike

1 4.4

Contains very small, closely packed particles that make it feel smooth like fine sugar

is looser and feels more like loose tiny particles rather than tightly packed texture

floury

vsdustlike

3.9

Something that is soft, dry and powdery like flour

is about general tiny particle likeness rather than a food texture

small-grained

vsdustlike

4.0

Made of very small pieces like fine sand

has a looser, finer surface feel rather than distinct particles

How Dusty

dusty

100 1.0

powdery

4 3.0

dustlike

3.4

Surface Forms

dustlike positive

Morphology

dustlike = dust (transparent) = dust + like

The adjective is formed by the productive suffix '-like' attached to the noun 'dust', yielding a clear meaning 'resembling dust'.

Etymology

The word dustlike is made from dust and the ending -like, where dust means very small dry bits and -like means 'similar to'. So dustlike describes something 'similar to' dust, very fine and powdery, which is why we use it for tiny particles.